Big Joanie - Back Home

Think you know what to expect from punk? Big Joanie want you to think again. On their second album, the trio demand you leave expectations at the door, but really, you’ll be all the better for it. While they’re still recognizably punk to their core - the introspective ‘Taut’ has revving riffs and an incredible sticking power about its hooks, while ‘Insecure’ shimmies along with a grooving bassline - elsewhere, they’re making astronomical leaps. Indeed, the very thing that’s most enticing on this record is its innovativeness.. Opener ‘Cactus Tree’ has a swirling folksiness to it, while ‘Confident Man’ boasts a curveball of a break with spacey synths and a drum machine, while ‘Count To Ten’ boldly swaps out the guitar for the retro hum of an Omnichord. It’s the most eclectic punk record to emerge in ages, and even though it incorporates elements that might seem incongruous in a style that thrives off its simplicity, they’re carried off with enough class for it to sound intriguing rather than jarring. In fact, there’s a refreshing elegance about the whole thing.